U.S. Pat. No. 5,267,363 (hereinafter the “'363 patent) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,367,726 (hereinafter the “'726 patent”) disclose a valve and a motor for inflating and deflating inflatable objects. FIG. 62 illustrates a top view and FIG. 63 illustrates a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of dual-valve assembly disclosed in the '363 and '726 patents. The valve includes a flange 152 that may be mounted to a wall of an inflatable body in a location proximate to a port through which air is transferred between an interior and an exterior of the inflatable body. The flange 152 has a throat 1521 through which all air passes that is being transferred between the interior and the exterior of the inflatable body. The throat 1521 is defined by a circular rim 1522. In addition, a cover assembly 153 including a cap 1533 is used to removably cover the throat 1521. A ring-shaped base 1531 is disposed around an exterior of the circular rim. The cap 1533 is attached to the base by means of a hinge assembly 1532. The cap may be latched into a closed position by a latching arrangement including a latch projection 1535 on the cap and latch receptacle 1536 on the base. When the cap is closed, a gasket 1534 is urged against the top 1523 of the rim 1522 so that the gasket is submitted to compression, to seal the dual-valve assembly.
Disposed within the dual-valve assembly 153 is a valve assembly 154. The valve assembly includes a diaphragm 1544 and valve stem 1547. The valve stem and the diaphragm are supported by a valve stem support 1549 which is attached to the cap 1533. The dual-valve assembly also includes a structure defining an inflation input 1542 and a valve seat 1543, that the diaphragm rests against in a closed position to further form a seal of the dual-valve assembly. The diaphragm can be accessed by an individual at the inflation input and can be pushed axially within the dual-valve assembly in a downward direction into an open position by pressing on a push button 1546. The diaphragm is urged into the closed position when the push button is released by a spring 1548, disposed within the valve stem, that pushes against a portion of the valve stem support.
Thus, the '363 and '726 patents disclose a valve that can be used to inflate and deflate an inflatable device wherein the diaphragm moves downward in an axial direction towards an interior of the inflatable device away from the valve seat during inflation and that moves upward in an axial direction towards the valve seat to seal the valve. However, the dual-valve assembly disclosed in the '363 and '726 patents is approximately 4″×5″ and therefore requires substantial space for mounting within an inflatable object. However, many inflatable objects cannot accommodate a valve assembly of this size and therefore there is a need for a smaller valve assembly that can be mounted within smaller inflatable objects. In addition, many inflatable devices have a contoured surface and therefore there is a need for a valve that can be mounted on a contoured surface area. Further, the dual-valve of the '363 and '726 patents requires nine separate parts to be manufactured and assembled and therefore is costly and difficult to manufacture, assemble and maintain. Therefore, there is a need for a valve that requires less parts, is cheaper to manufacture and assemble, and is easy to maintain. Moreover, the dual-valve disclosed in the '363 and '726 patents has redundant devices for sealing the valve which contribute to the excessive parts and cost. Therefore, there is a need for a valve that provides a suitable seal that does not require redundant structure to accomplish the self-seal. Still further, since the valve is to be inserted within an inflatable device, there is a need for the valve to be easy to use and easy to clean and/or repair.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a self-sealing valve assembly for use in inflatable devices.